La Fatalité de L'Amour
by After Six
Summary: A story chronicling the relationship of Sailor Venus and Kunzite from the Silver Millennium era to the fall of the moon kingdom, and when they are finally reunited for a second chance at love in present day. Partly AU to give them a happy ending. Follows the manga continuity.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Serenity was sneaking out again.

Venus forced herself to be calm as she quietly followed her princess from a safe distance, though she already knew very well where the girl was headed. There was only one destination she was interested in these days; the earth. Her guardians had tried to stop her many times, had scolded her for continuing to evade them despite their best efforts, and yet all of it had fallen on deaf ears.

Perhaps that was why today Venus didn't just catch her in the act even though she could've. She had seen the flash of blonde hair pass her by and had not attempted to stop her. Venus' curiosity was getting the better of her. She knew Serenity was infatuated with Endymion, the prince of earth, but she didn't understand _why_. And so she decided to follow them. Perhaps if she watched them long enough, she would get it.

Serenity had such a one-track mind when it came to Endymion that Venus shouldn't have bothered being stealthy at all. The princess wouldn't have noticed even if Venus had been stomping her way behind her. Still, the guardian kept herself hidden, and soon enough they arrived at the woods that had become the couple's regular rendezvous spot. If Serenity intended not to be caught, she could have easily picked another place, but it seemed she wasn't applying logic to a lot of things where Endymion was concerned. That was what worried Venus. She knew the princess wasn't trained the way the senshi were, but she was not being careful at all.

There was something about this lush greenery that Serenity loved, though. She once said it was what really reminded her of earth. This thick canopy of trees where only few patches of sunlight could shine through. The sound of birds chirping happily overhead. The soft grass on her bare feet that tickled her toes. All of it felt very… _earthy _was the way she put it.

The princess' giggles and delighted squeal told Venus that her prince had arrived. She had hoped Endymion's own guardians would have been able to manage him better, but apparently they were just as much at a loss as she was. When Endymion emerged fully from the trees, he picked up Serenity easily and spun her around as they both laughed. _Children_, Venus thought in disbelief. _They are positively behaving like children. And these are meant to be the future rulers of the earth and the moon? _They were clearly more concerned with each other than any politics or the well-being of their own kingdoms.

The prince lowered Serenity down on her feet again and they started to gaze at each other with almost literal hearts in their eyes. Truly, Venus could almost see it. She watched them intently as they moved closer and closer to one another, until she heard a branch crack under someone's foot right behind her. Her instinct kicking in, she turned swiftly and grasped the chain around her waist, already regretting not bringing her sword down here.

But what she saw was a tall white-haired man who was smiling in amusement at her.

"It's rude to watch, you know," he said simply.

Venus lowered her hand and scowled at him. "So you _are _here. Why aren't you doing your job and keeping the prince where he belongs?"

"I could say the same about you," he replied, still smiling. "Actually, I _am _keeping him where he belongs. In case you forget, we're on earth. Your moon princess is the one who's not supposed to be here."

Venus sighed and looked back at the couple, now entwined so completely she couldn't tell where one of them ended and the other began. "I should take her home."

"Why?" Kunzite asked. "You followed her all the way here. You could've stopped her at any time and carried her home. Instead you waited until this point. Would you really be so cruel to want to ruin this moment than prevent it from happening at all?"

"Alright! I'll let them be. But not for too long." Venus turned away and walked a couple paces deeper into the woods. "Let's give them some privacy, though I doubt they could even hear us through their love haze."

Kunzite followed her. Venus found a tree root thick enough to sit on a few feet away that still offered her a good view of the princess, so she settled on it. He remained standing a polite distance away. For a long time, neither of them said anything.

"So… are you going to tell me what you're really doing?" he finally asked.

"I'm watching my princess," Venus said matter-of-factly.

"Right. You're letting her… do this."

"So are you."

"Well, I asked you first."

She looked up at him with annoyance and took a deep breath before saying, "Fine. I'm… trying to understand."

"Understand what?"

"This." Venus waved at the scene before them. The sickeningly sweet scene where the prince was touching the princess' nose with his own and she was giggling girlishly again.

"What's to understand? They're in love."

Venus dragged her eyes away from Serenity and back to Kunzite. "No, it's just… childish infatuation. They just _think _they're in love."

Kunzite shook his head and grinned at her. "You seriously can't see it? You, the self-proclaimed goddess of love?" Venus bristled, but said nothing. "I swear, Venus, sometimes you can be the most oblivious to things that should've been the most obvious to you."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He looked at her strangely. "You've… never been in love, have you?"

She blanched and averted her gaze. "I have no time for that. My duty takes precedence over everything."

"Poor Adonis. I've seen the way he pines at you from afar."

"What?" Venus spluttered. "He's… a soldier, same as I! Are you saying he… what, has a crush on me?"

"He's madly, head over heels in love with you."

"Nice try. You don't even live on the moon. How would you know? I don't have to listen to these foolish notions."

"I may not see him that often, but what I see is enough. Venus, you're… magnificent. Of course someone would be in love with you."

She was startled by the word he used to describe her. When she looked into his gray eyes, he was staring at her so intensely that she felt overwhelmed. He'd never looked at her that way before. There was so much emotion in his gaze, emotions that he usually kept shielded from her. She knew how well he could appear impassive and impossible to read. At this moment, just for a brief second, he seemed to have discarded his guard and let her see into his soul.

It scared her. She looked away before she could get lost, for she was afraid she couldn't find her way back from that.

"So… they're in love…?" she said instead, a question that might have been as much directed toward herself as it was toward him.

"They're in love," he answered, though his gaze never left her.

In front of them, the princess and the prince held hands, looking at each other as if they were the only two people in the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"We've got to stop meeting like this."

Kunzite just gave Venus the same amused smile that had begun to grate on her nerves. "Why? Would you prefer to meet some other way? Because I've got a few choices in mind…"

"I'm serious!" she spoke through gritted teeth, glaring at him. "Can't you, I don't know, keep the prince inside castle walls or something?"

"Whoa, I'm not going to imprison the heir of our kingdom, and especially not if you're letting _your _princess wander all the way here all the time. I think she's the one seducing him."

Venus smacked him in the arm. "You know full well that's not true. Serenity is a _child_. She has the seducing skill of a teapot."

"Well, she is very pretty. It doesn't take much."

"Stop looking at her like that."

"I'm not. You're right; she's like a little girl to me. But evidently not to our prince." Kunzite glanced at the pair of lovers they were quietly watching, and Venus felt a headache beginning to form. She had already consulted with the others about what to do. Mercury had no answer because it was not a scientific problem. Mars suggested putting Serenity in a tower and throwing away the key. And Jupiter said they should let the princess be happy.

Venus was most inclined to agree with Mars.

"I hate to be the one that destroys her joy," Venus sighed.

"Is that why you keep watching her from afar instead of hauling her back to the moon?"

"Something like that. It's just… I've never seen her this happy. She's positively radiant when she's around Endymion."

"So? Then perhaps this is not a bad thing. Perhaps we _should _let them be."

"Maybe," Venus said, biting her lip nervously. "But I'm just not sure…"

"Sure about what?"

"That it's going to end well." She took a deep breath. "Denizens of the moon and the earth aren't supposed to interact. We're from different worlds. It could be dangerous. Why did she have to go all the way here to fall in love, anyway? There are perfectly good menfolk on the moon who would be more appropriate suitors."

"Well, the heart wants what the heart wants, even as unlikely as it seems sometimes," he said, staring at her with that intense gaze again.

Venus looked away. "It's never a good idea to mix with people who aren't your own kind."

"Surely you're not that cynical? Maybe their love can unite our kingdoms. Bring peace to everyone involved."

"Ha!" Venus scoffed. "That's… pipe dream. It's not that I don't want it to happen. It's just…" she turned to look at the rest of the earth, spread wide open all around her. "You can't mean to say that all of the earth denizens actually like us."

Kunzite's smile faltered. A shadow passed over his face. "No. Actually… I've seen some rumblings lately. People are… _concerned_ about the moon kingdom."

"What?" Venus shot up in a blink of an eye. "What do you mean, concerned? And why are you only telling me this now?"

"Relax. I'm sure it's nothing. It happens from time to time. Not everyone is happy—then again you can never make everyone happy. They just think… well, it's silly, but they think your people are spying on us."

"Spying?!" Venus exclaimed, and when Kunzite hastily brought his finger to his lips, she ducked and turned toward the prince and princess, who were looking around curiously. Apparently she had shouted loud enough for them to notice.

As the two slowly shifted their attention back to each other upon finding nothing suspicious, Venus looked back at Kunzite, speaking in a lowered voice. "We're _watching _over you. Making sure you're safe. And your people take that as _spying_?"

Kunzite sighed. "Well, the thing is, I think… nobody asked you to watch over us, you know?" When Venus looked furious, Kunzite quickly continued before she could take a breath. "Look, I for one am grateful, but people with evil intentions can twist anything. They can manipulate others into thinking the most outrageous things. But like I told you, there's nothing to worry about. The prince and the rest of us will take care of it."

"The prince is too busy kissing the princess to notice anything!"

"Then I will make sure he knows," Kunzite said reassuringly.

"Promise?" Venus asked with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled at her again. "Promise. You should know by now I'd never let anything bad happen to you… or your princess." He touched her arm in a comforting manner, but Venus jumped back, startled. It was the first time he had made uninvited contact, and the fact that the gesture felt intimate made it all the more alarming.

"Sorry," he said quickly, raising his hands and stepping back.

"No, it's… it's fine. I'm just… tense, I guess."

"You always are," he said with a grin. "You really should loosen up, V. Do something fun once in a while. Stop obsessing over your princess."

Venus rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"I meant it," he said.

"Okay, I'm going to break this up. They've had hours. And… Kunzite?"

"Yes?"

"Can you make me one more promise?"

He looked at her curiously. "Sure."

"Promise you won't fall in love with a girl from the moon too."

His easy smile turned into a look of utter shock. "What… what do you mean?"

"I mean we're having enough complications with this one," she waved her hand at the direction of Endymion and Serenity. "And you and I should know better. We're their guardians." She stared at him solemnly. "We can't make the same mistake they did."

And with that, she walked away without looking back once.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It came without warning.

In a day that was like any other, Venus was patrolling the palace perimeters when a scout ran toward her, his expression panicked and out of breath. "Sailor Venus! The earth…" He even seemed confused by what he was saying. Like it made no sense at all. "The earth people… I think they're attacking us."

"What?!" Venus didn't stop to wait for an explanation. She ran to the observatory and decided to see for herself. Usually when she viewed the earth from here, she could see nothing but a floating globe of green and blue. Peaceful and unchanging as always. But today she could see it. An army of hundreds—no, thousands, she realized with a chill—heading straight for the moon.

The wholly unprepared moon.

"Sound the alarms!" she yelled to anyone who could hear, and ran straight back to the palace. Her mind was whirling with a thousand different possibilities as she tried to figure out what the hell was going on. But there was no other explanation for the raised weapons and the battle armor each of them was wearing. This was… war.

She remembered the rumblings of disquiet Kunzite had mentioned a little while ago. She hadn't seen him again since, because Venus and the other senshi had managed a new, tighter schedule that kept Serenity where she was supposed to be at all times. She hadn't liked the idea of the princess coming back to earth until the potential unrest was sorted. She'd intended to come back on her own later this week to check the development of the situation, but now it seemed she had her answer.

The minor unrest had grown into a full-blown war. How did this happen? When Kunzite mentioned it, he hadn't seemed at all concerned about it. He seemed like he didn't think much of it, that it was nothing special. And yet now…

"Damn it, Kunzite," Venus swore as she burst into the throne room.

Queen Serenity looked up in surprise, both because of her intrusion and the swearing. But Venus had no time for decorum.

"Your Majesty, I have reason to believe we are under attack," she said, catching her breath. "Thousands of earth denizens are on their way right now. They can arrive at any moment."

The queen's face paled. "Get the princess to safety," she ordered, "And alert all of our guards."

The siren had started echoing throughout the kingdom, and their own army was marching to their battle stations. Venus ran back outside and found Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter gathering right outside the palace doors with a panic-stricken Serenity.

Upon seeing Venus, Serenity ran to her arms. "What is going on? Is it true what they're saying? Are we at war with earth?"

Venus didn't know how to answer that question. She looked at the other girls, who also stared at her in confusion. "It seems so," she finally admitted. She wanted to say it was all a huge misunderstanding, or that something was not what it seemed, but she knew she'd just be fooling herself. There would be no time to talk once the earth's army arrived. They could only defend, and retaliate.

"But that's impossible! Is Endymion with them?" Serenity made to run outside the gate, but all four of her guardians stopped her at once.

"You can't go out there! Your mother has ordered us to get you to safety. We have to get inside," Venus said.

"No! I need to see him and make sure he's okay! There must be some mistake! He would never let this happen! He won't attack us. He… he loves me!" Tears were glistening in Serenity's eyes, and Mercury stepped forward to put her arm around the princess' shoulder.

"I'm sure he has nothing to do with this," she said comfortingly. "We'll sort this out, but you have to come with us, alright?"

After some hesitation, Serenity nodded and let Mercury and Mars lead her inside. Jupiter stayed behind with Venus, looking at her grimly.

"I don't want to kill them," she said softly.

Venus took a moment to appreciate that this came from their strongest guardian, whose power was the most devastating of them all. She smiled wryly. "Well, I'm afraid it's them or us. And if they try to get to Serenity…"

She let her sentence trail off, but she knew it was all she needed to say when Jupiter's expression hardened. She nodded in understanding and took off to help command their army.

* * *

Standing on the front lines, Venus could see the earth denizens the moment they touched down on the moon. A woman with fiery red hair was leading the charge, her scarlet waves lighting up the sky like flames, fanning the blaze of anger all around her. Venus knew her. She was a witch—Beryl. Was she the one behind this?

Then her gaze fell on the four generals just behind her, and Venus felt her blood run cold.

A very familiar face was among them. Actually, all four looked familiar. They were Endymion's guards.

It took the roars of battle cry and the clanging of swords when both armies made contact with each other to wake her up from her daze. She fought instinctively, but her mind was distracted. What she had seen couldn't have been right. She twisted and turned, avoiding attacks from all directions, and tried to make her way toward the generals.

If she could just get a good look at them…

Suddenly, there he was. Right in front of her. Venus watched with her own eyes when he gored one of the moon kingdom's knights viciously and let the man's blood spatter his clothes. She felt her breath hitch as he turned to look at her.

His eyes were empty, all he seemed to see was his next target. He raised his weapon without hesitation and it took her a second longer to raise hers.

"Kunzite…?" she whispered in confusion.

There must be some mistake. Maybe he was an impostor. Some kind of trick played by that witch…

But as he yelled and swung his sword to slash her, Venus realized that his attacks, all his movements were way too familiar. They were _his _tactics, _his _moves… she had sparred enough times with him to know his weaknesses and strengths.

And now she had to use that knowledge against him.

He was strong, but she had always been quicker. And he always favored his right side…

A quick jab in the opposite direction managed to slash his arm, and Venus took the chance to put her sword straight up against his neck, while her other hand restrained his. "Kunzite! What on earth is going on?! Why are you attacking us?" she demanded.

He merely sneered. "Because we're sick of you spying on us!"

"If we were spying on you, don't you think we would've seen this attack coming?! We certainly would have done something about it instead of sitting around waiting for you to come!"

He didn't seem to care what he said—didn't have much interest in talking. She could see it in his eyes; the one desire he cared about. Destruction. Death.

"What happened to you?" she asked in a whisper, trembling against his force as he tried to break away from her grasp.

"I'm only doing what I should have done long ago! Kill you all!"

He pushed hard against her and she stumbled back, and he brought her sword down with a killing blow. Venus dodged to the side as quick as she could, but the weapon still nicked her shoulder. She cried out as blood started flowing, then bit her lip to stifle it. She wasn't going to show weakness against him. Not if he had no mercy for her either.

But the sight of her blood and her small cry seemed to have made something in his eyes shift. For a moment, he looked dazed, and Venus thought she saw a glimpse of the Kunzite she knew again.

"Venus…?" he started to say, his eyes filled with familiarity as he gazed at her. Then something seemed to overcome him, and his expression changed again to the mask of rage and bloodlust.

Her mind put the pieces together. "Someone… is someone controlling you?"

He'd moved to attack again, but Venus whipped her chain and the force of her attack sent him flying against a nearby pillar. He slumped to the floor, momentarily unconscious.

She checked to make sure he was still alive, and looked around. Now everything made sense. He was being controlled by an outside force, and that was the only reason he'd turned against them. Surely the same must be true for the other generals. And maybe the rest of these people.

If only she could just find the source… of whoever was behind it…

Venus looked to the sky and saw the witch with the red hair floating above the rest, smiling in cruel triumph as she sent blasts of power against the moon kingdom's army.

She gritted her teeth and found her answer.

_Beryl._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Endymion has a secret admirer," Kunzite had told Venus one day.

She had raised her eyebrows and nodded at Serenity, who had not been trying to hide her googly eyes at all. This was before the two of them started sneaking out together all the time, but even back then the attraction had been obvious. "I don't think it's so secret anymore."

Kunzite had shaken his head. "No, not your princess. A woman from earth. She's actually pretty cute, too. Red hair. More my taste, though, I guess, because the prince has not even looked at her twice. I feel pretty bad for her."

"Oh?" Venus had grown more interested. "So you're into redheads?"

He had looked at her with a grin. "Well, I suppose blondes are okay too."

She had ignored his remark. "So who's this woman? A princess? Maybe you should arrange a match between them. That way your prince will stop bothering my princess."

Kunzite had all but rolled his eyes. "The prince's romantic life isn't exactly part of my job description. And anyway, she's not a princess or anything. Just an ordinary woman. Well, not so ordinary I guess, if the rumors are to be believed. Apparently she's a sorceress."

"A sorceress?" Venus had felt concerned. "Aren't you worried she would hex him to fall in love with her or something?"

"I don't think so. She's not that strong. I checked her background once I noticed her lurking around wherever the prince is. To manipulate someone's love… well, you'd have to be pretty powerful, if that's even possible at all."

* * *

Venus remembered the first time she laid eyes on Beryl. When Serenity snuck to earth for one of the kingdom's official celebrations, Venus had agreed to allow her to come only if she was chaperoned. The princess had begged and begged to go, and so there she was, keeping an eye on the one uninvited guest and making sure she didn't get into trouble. Thankfully, Serenity was after some alone time herself, so once she located Endymion, the two had stayed as far away from the public as possible.

Venus—whose face wasn't as famous as Serenity—stood in her disguise inside the ballroom, trying her best to blend in while keeping an eye on the couple outside surreptitiously. Then Kunzite pointed out Beryl among the guests milling about to her. While everyone else was enjoying the merriment, the red-haired woman was the only one who kept looking around anxiously, clearly searching for the only person missing from the room. The prince.

Venus' first mistake that night was to feel sorry for her instead of considering her a serious threat.

Her second mistake was accepting Kunzite's invitation to dance.

* * *

Serenity's shriek of terror snapped Venus out of the memory, and she looked around in panic. The princess was not supposed to be out here. She ran toward the source of her voice, and as she glanced back up at the sky, she noticed that while the other attackers had momentarily distracted her, Beryl had disappeared. She didn't like the odds of those two things being a mere coincidence, and fought as quickly and effectively as she could, pushing her way closer toward her princess.

When she finally saw Serenity, the princess was shielded by Endymion, who had appeared out of nowhere. He was telling everyone to stop fighting, but she doubted anyone was in any condition to listen. She needed to tell him that everyone had been mind-controlled somehow, that they needed to take care of the person responsible to snap them out of it.

But the way to the group was so thick with people, and Venus was having a hard time getting through. She tried to look for her comrades, and saw the glimpses of blue, red, and green in different corners, fighting their own enemies. _Mercury, Mars, Jupiter! Our princess needs us! _She sent the thought desperately, hoping at least one of them could make it there sooner.

She could faintly hear Beryl calling Endymion a traitor, and the irony was not lost on her. Gritting her teeth in anger, she elbowed an earth knight who'd been keeping a tight hold on her on the throat and didn't even watch him fall before she dashed forward, freed.

Venus arrived at the clearing where the prince, the princess, and the witch stood. At the same precise moment, she heard Serenity's bloodcurdling scream. She froze.

At first, she couldn't understand what she was looking at. Everything seemed on pause for a moment. She was so afraid that the princess had been hurt—or worse—that she could not move. Beryl was there, her sword was sticking out of... oh gods, there was so much blood…

It was Endymion. He had shielded Serenity with his own body, and took the brunt of Beryl's attack. He fell to his knees, and Serenity screamed once more.

Venus felt her heart breaking along with her princess', but in a moment all that grief was turned into rage. This woman… she had manipulated everyone on earth. She was controlling Kunzite against his will. And now… now she had killed the prince.

With an anguished cry, Venus raised her sword—the Holy Sword of the Moon—and thrust it with all her might toward Beryl.

The weapon easily slid into her body, and she let out a cry that was more surprise than pain. Looking at the sword in disbelief, the sorceress said nothing more before her body crumpled to the ground. Trembling, Venus pulled back her sword, expecting the nightmare to end now that she had vanquished its creator. But instead, she saw something came out of Beryl's body. A thick black smoke with an evil presence so strong it nearly suffocated her, and she could've sworn the shapeless mass gave her a terrifying smile before it left the lifeless corpse.

Venus felt the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. _What was that? _That couldn't be good. That meant something had been possessing Beryl too… which meant there was still something else at work here… and indeed, when she looked around, everyone was still fighting as viciously as before. Panic gripped her as she desperately searched for the true evil. But the sound of the princess' pained gasp made her turn, and when she saw what had happened, an unimaginable agony tore through her heart.

"Princess! No!" she yelled, but it was too late. Serenity had stabbed herself with a sword, clearly devastated over Endymion's death. Venus ran toward her, feeling like the sword had pierced her own heart. Tears were already falling uncontrollably as she knelt beside Serenity's fallen body and cradled the princess' head on her lap. Great sobs racked her body. She had never cried like this before.

She had never thought she was capable of crying like this before.

"No, no, no…" she kept repeating over and over, as if that would somehow bring the princess back. Maybe if she hadn't been distracted by that _thing_… Maybe if she hadn't been focusing her entire attention on Beryl and watched Serenity like she was supposed to be doing… If she hadn't been so selfish in her need for revenge and to help Kunzite…

"Please, please, I'm sorry…" she sobbed, bending over Serenity's body so that her tears fell on the princess. "I'm so sorry, please come back…" she begged, even prayed for her powers to give Serenity life, to even take her own in exchange. But the princess' face was pale and she was already getting cold, and Venus…

Venus had failed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The war raged on around her, but for Venus, the world might as well have ended.

The four soldiers knelt around their fallen princess, their expressions in varying states of anguish. For so long they had protected her from all kinds of threat. Never once had they thought she would be her own greatest enemy. Never once had they imagined that she would die by her own hand.

Venus should have seen it coming. It was her job to be a couple steps ahead of everyone, and she had failed so utterly. This was one possibility that had not crossed her mind at all.

Sounds slowly came back to her, breaking through the haze of shock. Mars was muttering over and over, "It's my fault. It's all my fault." She was crying, too. "I was supposed to make sure she stay in her room… I'd posted guards… but I should have been there myself. I should have been there to stop her."

Venus gently laid the princess' body on the ground as Queen Serenity approached, her face pale and her eyes unseeing. Venus had never seen the usually regal and poised queen look so fragile and haunted before. She looked merely like a shell of herself.

"Your Majesty, I'm…" Venus began to apologize, but she realized how stupid it would sound. Instead, her sentence ended in a choking sob. No amount of apology would be enough. She had one job and she had failed it so completely. If she didn't die tonight in this battlefield, she didn't know how she was meant to go on with her life, burdening this shame. She didn't deserve to live while the princess was dead. They were all supposed to die before her, not the other way around.

"Go," Queen Serenity said softly, almost too quiet to hear amid the sounds of battle. She looked up at the four soldiers when they remained frozen and said, louder, "The war is not over. Go. Fight! I will take care of the princess."

Venus hardly remembered that all around them, the world had not stopped. She saw no more point in fighting now that the one they were fighting for was gone, but she was still a soldier and the queen had given her order. Impossible though it may be, she dragged her gaze away from the princess' fallen body and back toward the battlefield.

It was easy to see that they were losing. The moon kingdom's army was getting overwhelmed, even with Beryl dead. For a second Venus couldn't decide where to go. Then she saw Kunzite, still fighting some distance away, and ran toward him.

She was a couple paces away from him when the Silver Millennium soldier he was fighting got the upper hand and stabbed him right in the stomach. She could see it happening—almost in slow motion—recognized the final thrust the knight was making, and yet she could do nothing but open her mouth in a silent scream.

For the second time that night Venus felt her world coming to a stop.

She watched him fall, ironically graceful to the last minute. She watched the knight turn away as soon as he was sure the job was done, leaving him to die alone. She watched as, just like it had with Beryl, the black shadow left his now useless body, deeming him a lost cause.

And she forced her feet to continue moving forward. She knelt shakily beside him, and his eyes—his old, familiar eyes—found her.

"Venus…" he whispered with his old voice, not the cold harsh one with which he declared his intent to kill her.

She saw his wound and put her hand on her mouth to stifle a sob. The tears trickling down her cheek betrayed her anyway.

"My lovely goddess… don't cry," he said, raising a trembling hand to gently touch her cheek. His warm hand on her skin felt like the only thing that was real in this terrible nightmare. "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" she asked, taking in as much of him as possible, wanting to etch this into her memory if she was never going to see him again.

"For fighting you. For almost killing you."

"Please. I'm not that easy to kill. I totally beat you up."

He let out a painful laugh. "It was still very rude of me."

"You couldn't help it. You were brainwashed. Possessed. Whatever."

"I should've been able to. Endymion did."

She blinked in surprise. "He did?"

"Why do you think he's the only sane one? He loves your princess… too much. Enough to fight off the dark magic. Me, on the other hand…" he shook his head. "I didn't love you enough. And that is the worst sin of all."

"What?" Venus blinked back her tears, not understanding. "I think you're delirious. Stop talking. I'm going to get you some help."

"No." He stopped her attempt to prop him up, masking his pain with a smile. "My time is up. And maybe if I've told you this a long time ago… But you made me promise. And I couldn't keep it."

She listened in silence, trying so hard to quench the tears that just kept on coming.

"I broke my promise. I fell for you, and then I couldn't even love you enough." There was so much regret in his eyes, she had to force herself not to look away. "I'm no good for you, Venus. You deserve so much better. I'm so sorry. For not being good enough for you."

She shook her head vigorously. "No. Don't be stupid. What do _I _know about love? As you said, I'm the most oblivious of all. I'm not good enough for you either."

"I hope you find someone who's worthy of you," he said, ignoring her words. "And be happy..." His eyes were fluttering to a close.

"No! Kunzite, stay with me! Come on! Don't leave me alone! I've already failed my princess today, you can't..."

"I… failed my prince too. Guess… this isn't a very good night for either of us, huh?" he managed a bitter smile before his hand fell back to the ground. "If I had a second chance…" He reopened his eyes with a last burst of energy, and she could see the barest flicker of hope among the sadness in his gaze. "I swear… Venus… I will love you right."

Then his eyes closed for good.

His body went limp.

And Venus sobbed over a lifeless body for the second time that night.

* * *

She didn't remember what happened next. They were not important.

The battle raged on, and she tried to continue fighting. But the longer it went, the clearer it became that this was a battle they would not win.

Mercury fell first following the princess. Then Mars followed suit.

Someone—Venus didn't know who, and didn't particularly care either—fatally wounded her not long after that. She lay dying among fire and ash, watching Jupiter being the last senshi standing.

But she watched her eventually fall, too.

Somewhere in the distance, Queen Serenity raised the Silver Crystal. Its light was warm, and as it bathed her in its brightness, Venus felt comforted.

She had so many regrets, but there was no point dwelling on them.

When death finally came, it was peaceful and a relief.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_**Tokyo City  
**__The 20__th__ century_

The wind rustled thick green leaves overhead. The smell of spring—of new life and new beginnings—permeated the air. It was a beautiful day; warm enough to shed the thick bulky winter coats and cool enough to have a nice stroll under the sun. Aino Minako, a second year junior high student, walked with her friends toward school, chatting happily as her long blonde hair danced in the wind. Her expression was happy and carefree—innocent. A girl without troubles or painful memories.

Summer was a few months away, and the girls were planning their vacation, their minds already filled with thoughts of sun, beaches, and the ocean. When a particularly strong wind whipped Minako's hair across her face, she momentarily lost her sight. She paused to push the blonde locks away and stopped short when something new appeared in her once again unobstructed vision.

A tall, imposing young man who seemed several years older than her—maybe a high school student?—with long hair the unusual color of silver. She didn't notice when her friends continued onward, and they only paused to see her expression before continuing on. Clearly this was a regular occurrence that required no concern for them; her being transfixed by a good-looking boy on the street.

But that wasn't it this time.

Sure, he was handsome. Gorgeous, even. His sharp angles, his warrior-like build… it was like he'd been sculpted by a god. She'd never seen someone who looked so… out of this world before. He seemed to exist almost entirely in monochrome. His eyes were gray. He was wearing a white button down shirt and gray pants, while holding a gray school jacket casually over his shoulder, like he couldn't be bothered to put it on even though it was part of the uniform. His shoes were black. Even his skin was so pale it was almost white.

He reminded her of ash.

And that stirred something within her.

It was a strange familiar feeling… like something calling out from the deepest part of her soul. Something nostalgic, but also tinged with sadness. A painful memory that she wanted to tug free of its hiding place yet at the same time was afraid to.

Something that seemed to belong in another lifetime.

He had stopped, too. And he was looking at her with that same curious and somewhat… enchanted look. That was the right word for it; _enchanted_. As if the moment they laid eyes on each other, they'd been put under a spell.

Minako didn't believe in magic. Her life was very ordinary, and though she entertained romantic notions like love at first sight, she never imagined or experienced something like this. This was almost too intense—it was a bit frightening.

It was like her heart knew him before her brain did.

"Hello."

She didn't know how long they'd been locked in that silent staring contest—could have been seconds, could have been hours for all she knew. But he was the first one that broke it. His voice was deep, and again, familiar. She knew how it would sound almost before it reached her ears.

"Hi," she replied, uncharacteristically timid. There was something about this that unsettled her. She didn't understand what she was feeling and it scared her. "Have we… met before?" she asked cautiously.

"That's what I was wondering as well," he said with the smallest of smiles. He brushed his hair from his forehead and turned to look at her fully. He seemed almost hypnotized. "It feels like perhaps we have… in a dream of some sort."

"A dream?" she blinked, not at all expecting that.

He appeared to realize what he'd just said, and laughed. "Sorry. That was an odd thing to say. I'm not a strange person, I promise. Which… is probably what a strange person would say. But… I have to be honest. You do look—or feel—really familiar." He tilted his head. "You're not famous by any chance, are you?"

Now it was Minako's turn to laugh. "No. Not _yet_, at least. But if I had my way, I will be in a couple short years."

He grinned at her. "I can definitely see that happening. You have that idol aura around you. It's easy to imagine people admiring you."

His words felt disconcertingly sincere, as if this was not an observation made based on a first impression. "Well. Thank you, I guess. You may have the honor of being my first ever fan."

He looked so much more handsome when he smiled like this. "Well, you've certainly got the ego part down."

"What did you just say?" Minako said indignantly, which made him laugh harder. "It's rude to insult someone you just met."

"Ah, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? My name is Yoshida Kenji. I've just transferred to Shiba Kōen High School, second year." He extended one hand toward her.

"I go there too, but I'm on junior high, second year. Aino Minako," she replied, catching his offered hand in a firm grasp.

A flash of a ruined kingdom appeared briefly in her mind's eye the moment their skins made contact. It jolted her and she pulled her hand back as if electrocuted.

"Did you see that?" she whispered, unsure whether she was asking him or herself.

His expression showed the same surprise, but he didn't answer. She didn't know if he didn't hear or simply chose not to. Instead, he gave her a small smile. "Aino, huh…" He seemed to look at her in a new, gentler way. "Let us walk together then, _Ai no Megami*…_"

The words sent a warm tingle up Minako's spine. But she did not correct him. She had a feeling he hadn't gotten her name wrong.

She just fell into step easily with him, feeling like something had clicked into place.

As if two parts had just been made whole.

The wind blew around them once more, but gently this time, carrying and whispering secrets within it from times too long to remember.

**END**

* * *

_*goddess of love_


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